2008 Mitsubishi Evolution MR

11,000 miles with no speeding tickets. Perhaps we've grown up a bit too much?

Although the tension within our stable is growing — we do have a here after all — the EVO MR has slotted in and has been playing nicely for the most part. Like a best friend who's moved in for the first time, certain attributes begin to surface and it's important to come to an understanding with them. For instance, at full bore the MR's dual-clutch transmission performs to your liking at a clairvoyant level, but in rare instances — such as bumper-to-bumper traffic on an incline — we yearn for manual clutch control to put an end to the computer's confusion. Cargo space has also for the first time become a small issue — pun intended — especially when carrying longer items like skis or snowboards, since the Evo sacrifices the convenience of a pass-through for greater chassis rigidity.

We haven't even come close to losing that magic of our first Evo encounter, but we've come to realize that we will need to leave some wiggle room in our long-term expectations.

"I 'just happened along' Cal-Bodfish Road, which is one of those made-for-Evo (or STI) roads. Super tight and quite bumpy, it tests a car's suspension travel as well as its air dam clearance. The Evo passed with flying colors, as I expected it would. Easy to throw into a corner with utmost confidence, aided by quick steering that is on the light side. It's fun to alter the Evo's attitude from understeer to slight oversteer with drop-throttle or left-foot braking, which is made easier by the twin-clutch gearbox since your left foot can be devoted solely to the brake. The big Brembo calipers lend nice firm pedal feel and give terrific confidence for driving deep into corners. I experienced zero brake fade over Cal-Bodfish, which is a road with the ability to fry pads." — Mike Monticello, Road & Track Feature Editor

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